Internet Safety

The number of internet-connected devices in your home is forever growing and at a rapid pace - in fact, the number of mobile devices is soon set to exceed the world's population. And, it's no longer just laptops, computers and mobile devices that connect to the internet.

Bullying isn't new, of course. But technology has made it easier than ever before for bullies to attack the vulnerable. And the widespread over-sharing on social networks in today's society has unwittingly thrown fuel on the fire.

Some days, I think, I blog therefore I am. It is my reason for getting up in the middle of the night. It is my link to the outside world. It is a way to connect with strangers, to exorcise my demons, to mull over my thoughts and stash them away for posterity...

The internet and information technology can widen access to learning, enhance the quality of education and empower men and women, girls and boys, with new skills and opportunities. But this does not happen by itself - it requires leadership, planning and action.

Using the internet to chat with friends or play games online has become just as normal for many children as getting up to go to school. With millions of children browsing the web the questions I suspect many parents will ask themselves are: What does my child do when they go online? Are they browsing web sites I should be concerned about?

This years theme, 'Lets create a better internet together', recognises the balance between encouraging users to embrace the positive opportunities for creativity, fun and learning offered online, while responding to and dealing with the negative online.

Discussions about online filters focus on the privacy and civil liberties of adults. In the child protection sector, however, we are not losing sight of the fact that while these optional household filters are far from a silver bullet for keeping children safe online, they certainly help.

In the late 1990's as the internet truly started to go mainstream, a number of individuals and organisations mobilised to secure funding from governments, the Internet industry and philanthropic organisations to develop programmes of Internet safety education.

On one side is the 'Internet Safety Industrial Complex' faction that includes representatives of companies that sell internet safety technologies, i.e. Internet filtering, monitoring and age verification technologies.

In a world where we often spend more time online than we do in the 'real world' we will all make IT security mishaps at some point. Statistics from Experian Hitwise revealed that the UK spent 37 billion hours online last year. 1 The question is, how many of these hours were spent securely?

Passwords, passwords, passwords! There's no escape! You need them to bank online. You need them to log in to the many social networks you use. You need them to pay bills. So it's little wonder that many of us decide to use the same password for everything.

I was once the perfect mother. TV time was strictly controlled, no sugary sweets would pass my little darlings lips, and there was absolutely no way they would be allowed to use iPads, iPhones, Xboxes, computers or any other internet connecting medium until they were mature enough to use them. Possibly not even then. Of course that was before I actually had any kids.

Today, there is no 'Chip Paper', unlike old print media, with the Internet, everything you put on the Internet is there, potentially, forever, affecting your future educational, career and even relationship prospects. Which is quite a burden for the average pre-teen.

As one of the team of people involved in organising the first Internet Safety Day, it was a day that made me reflect on the continued absence of concerted action by mental health organisations and in particular, their governing bodies, in internet safety initiatives.

We are increasingly hearing from worried teenagers who know photographs of them are out there somewhere on the internet, being passed from person to person. Often they end up in the hands of adult sex offenders; paedophiles.

Unless Facebook starts paying attention to a few very important details I'd say it is only a matter of time before those comforting images evaporate. They'll be replaced by Donald Trump and barracudas.

When was the last time your children watched a hardcore porn video online? I'm guessing you're all outraged and shouting 'never' but how sure are you about what children are viewing online?
Leaving aside any debate about the rights and wrongs of pornography in society let's be clear about one thing. Children shouldn't be seeing it. But with over four million pornographic websites on the internet, an increasing number of children are learning about sex and personal relationships through the warped lens of adult porn.

As changes in the digital world gather pace, some companies are forging ahead and taking a positive approach towards internet safety but the overall pace remains slow and some are still failing to fulfil their child safety obligations.